Today the Supreme Court tossed out the majority of Arizona’s extreme anti-immigration law.
In a split vote, the justices struck down three out of the four pieces — specifically, making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to work, authorizing state officers to arrest people without a warrant if officers have probable cause to believe a person is an illegal and making all immigrants to register with the federal government. The high court kept one chunk intact, which requires police officers to try and verify the person’s immigration status with the feds when making any stops or arrests.
President Obama said he was “pleased” by the overall ruling, but remains “concerned about the practical impact of the remaining provision.” He added, “a patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system — it’s part of the problem.”
Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney criticized Obama for lacking a comprehensive immigration plan. During a meeting with donors in Scottsdale, of all places, he said “The Supreme Court ruling, given the failure of the immigration policy of this country, I would have preferred to see the Supreme Court give more latitude to states, not less.” Romney endorsed the Arizona law while seeking his the Republican nom, which could further complicate his standing with the Latino community.
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